Introducing … A Humorous Look at Something Sad

April 16, 2010

Sometimes we hear something that’s really quite sad — tragic, even — yet instead of making us feel depressed or ache for humanity or get out and do some charity work, it makes us laugh. And we feel bad about that. One time our teacher even yelled at us for laughing when the soldiers were shot in Johnny Tremain, but they were shot in such a funny way we just couldn’t help it. And we do have a sense of humor, unlike some people.

Plus, if you don’t laugh, you’re going to cry, right? So then we laugh more, because it’s pretty freaking hilarious, regardless. And it’s not like anybody got killed.

It is with such questionable judgment that we humbly offer you Tragicomic Fridays, where we promise to give you the saddest yet most hilarious thing we’ve heard all week, and you can tell us we’re heartless souls bound for the raging fires o’ hell or just laugh along with us. (Yes, we know “Tragicomic Tuesdays and Thursdays” would have a better ring to it, but today’s Friday and here goes.)
Disclaimer: This is ALL JEN. Foster is a very sensitive man who wanted nothing to do with this farce.

A suicidal man in Sweden called emergency services saying he felt “psychologically unstable” and was forwarded to a pastor. After about five minutes, the man got the funny feeling he was talking to himself.

“I thought maybe he was taking notes, so I asked: ‘Are you taking notes?’ I could hear his heavy breathing before he woke up,” he said.

Luckily, the clergyman’s response to his woes left the troubled man angry rather than depressed, and he abandoned thoughts of suicide.

The Church of Sweden promises to fire anyone in the future who can’t stay awake long enough to help callers. Yet… it was the priest’s lack of attention that pissed off the suicidal man enough to disband with suicide talk!

And that little nugget is what we at Runnin’ Scared call tragicomedy, folks. If the priest gets fired and makes his own suicidal call, and the suicidal man who’s since become a priest falls asleep on the line, that’s what we call evening the score.